Pennsylvania Heritage Recommends

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage Recommends Searching for George Gordon Meade: The Forgotten Victor of Gettysburg General George Gordon Meade (1815–1872) should be remembered as one of the American Civil War’s most important generals, but he is not. Instead, history has relegated him to minor status. President Abraham Lincoln gave the hot-tempered Meade command of the Union’s dysfunctional Army of the Potomac only three days before he...
read more

Executive Director’s Letter

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Executive Director’s Letter The commemoration of historical events and anniversaries is one of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s legislated responsibilities. The year 2013 will provide a number of opportunities to do so. For each of us these anniversaries provide a doorway to discovering more about Pennsylvania’s legacies. This year three notable anniversaries relate to the American Civil War. In January...
read more

Harnessing the Power of the Wind: A Contemporary Use for a Historic Energy Source

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Harnessing the Power of the Wind: A Contemporary Use for a Historic Energy Source Much like the oil farms of the last century were for drillers and riggers, Pennsylvania’s wind farms are proving grounds for engineers and technicians as they harness wind power. The long-standing use of wind power that for centuries propelled sailing vessels has been transformed throughout the world to produce electricity. Farmers used wind power in the late nineteenth and early twentieth...
read more

Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf Dapper Dan Flood: The Controversial Life of a Congressional Power Broker by William C. Kashatus published by the Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010; 350 pages, cloth, $29.95 William C. Kashatus’s Dapper Dan Flood: The Controversial Life of a Congressional Power Broker brings to life one of the most quixotic individuals to ever have served in the U.S. House of Representatives. His subject,...
read more

Black History in Pennsylvania: An Overview

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Black History in Pennsylvania: An Overview One of the more enduring outcomes of “Black History in Pennsylvania: Communities in Common,” the annual theme adopted by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) for 2010, is a history study that examines more than three centuries of African American life, culture, and experience in the Keystone State. This expansive document explores, in detail, the daily life, work, struggles,...
read more

Marking Pennsylvania’s African American History

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Marking Pennsylvania’s African American History Charged with collecting, preserving, and interpreting more than three centuries of the Keystone State’s history and culture — as well as millions of years of its prehistory — the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) has launched a number of widely acclaimed, innovative, and popular public history programs over the years. One of its most popular is the state historical marker...
read more

Mr. Peanut’s Hometown: Wilkes-Barre and the Founding of Planters Peanuts

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Mr. Peanut’s Hometown: Wilkes-Barre and the Founding of Planters Peanuts Few may realize it, but for nearly a half-century, the Luzerne County seat of Wilkes-Barre, in northeastern Pennsylvania, was the peanut capital of the world. Founded in 1906, the Planters Peanut Company operated its national headquarters at 632 South Main Street in an impressive two-story Federal-style building. A handsome balustrade encircled the roof of the elegant concrete edifice and was...
read more

PHMC Highlights

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on PHMC Highlights Old Economy Village volunteer Grant Stewart, portrays the traditional Pennsylvania German figure “Belsnickel,” and talks with young visitors to an Old Economy Village Christmas program in Ambridge, Beaver County. Belsnickel is checking his book to see who’s been naughty and who’s been nice. The Belsnickel is a Santa-like figure but not as jolly; he cautions children to behave well or receive...
read more

Lost and Found

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Lost and Found Lost In 1970, the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) deemed St. John Evangelist Episcopal Church, Dingmans Ferry, Pike County, to be in excellent condition and considered it noteworthy because it retained many of its original details, including Celtic crosses, stained glass windows, lancet entrance, and an open belfry. St. John’s parish was originally organized to serve not only full time...
read more

Discovering Religious Diversity Along the Pennsylvania Trails of History

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Discovering Religious Diversity Along the Pennsylvania Trails of History William Penn (1644-1718) knew well the sting of discrimination and the misery of persecution for his religious beliefs. He suffered the consequences of breaking with the Church of England, leading to estrangement from his father, Admiral Sir William Penn (1621-1670). When imprisoned for attending meetings of the Society of Friends – commonly called Quakers and Friends – the younger...
read more